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Adam saw the other robots move.
The metal counter was still over Natasha and Bruce. It covered them from the front and the top, while Adam stood in front of it in his Lodestar form. Behind him, Natasha and Bruce were still under that cover. Adam kept a little pressure on the metal so it would not slip away from them by accident. In front of him, the broken Iron Legion bodies were no longer the only problem.
The rest of the robots started attacking the Avengers. Steve brought his shield up when one robot rushed him.
Clint moved back with his bow raised as a machine turned in his direction.
Near Thor, another robot opened its weapon arm before he could throw Mjolnir.
Adam did not chase them. He spread both hands to his sides and closed his eyes.
The room changed inside his senses. He could feel the metal pieces lying on the floor. He could feel the broken parts near the tables. Most of all, he could feel the robots. Their bodies pulled at his power more strongly than anything else in the room. He did not have to see their faces or their weapons now. The metal itself was telling him where they were.
Adam felt the first pull near Steve. A robot raised its arm there, and the metal in its joints tightened.
Another pull came from Clint's side before Adam could open his eyes.
Near Thor, a weapon arm opened.
Adam pulled the floor pieces up.
Small metal shards rose from the ground and floated around his hands for a second. Then they began to spin, and the movement kept getting faster. Their edges started turning red from the heat, and the sound was sharp in his ears, like someone dragging knives through the air.
Steve's robot fired, and Adam snapped his hand forward.
The red metal pieces shot across the room and cut through the robot's chest before the bullets reached Steve. Adam did not stop them there. He pushed them upward, and the same pieces ripped through the robot again before striking the ceiling.
Then he pulled them back down. They came through the robot from the other side. The machine split open and fell in front of Steve, smoking from the places where the metal had passed through it.
Adam turned his other hand toward Clint.
The spinning pieces crossed the room and entered the robot that was moving toward him. They went through its middle first. Adam curved the pieces behind the robot and pulled them back through its back. Clint kept his arrow ready, but the robot dropped before he had to fire.
Thor's robot raised its weapon, and Adam twisted his fingers.
The red pieces struck the weapon arm first and broke it away. On the next pass, they cut through the chest and hit the ceiling before coming down through the robot's head. It crashed near Thor.
The remaining machines tried to move away from each other, so Adam opened both hands wider.
The hot metal pieces rose higher and moved across the room. They did not hit each robot only once. They cut through one body and struck the ceiling. Adam pulled them down through another part of the machine. A moment later, he raised them again for another pass. The robots were caught before they could finish their attacks. Adam kept changing the angle because one clean hit was not enough. He wanted the pieces to tear through the parts that still let the machines move.
The Iron Legion bodies shook in the air. Adam closed his fists.
The broken robots crushed inward at the same time. Their parts fell hard. The pieces that Adam had used also dropped to the floor, and each one left a deep mark where it landed.
Adam opened his eyes. The robots were down.
Ultron's damaged body turned its head toward him. The broken mouth moved, and the voice came out rough through the damaged speaker.
"As expected from a mysterious alien."
The Avengers came together again around Ultron's broken body.
Steve moved closer with his shield ready. Clint stood near him with his bow.
Thor held Mjolnir and stared at Ultron's broken body. Tony's armor stayed aimed at the same target.
Ultron looked at all of them. His mouth opened again.
Thor did not let him continue. He pulled Mjolnir back and threw it straight at Ultron.
The hammer hit Ultron in the chest. The broken suit flew back and crashed against the wall. Its body folded from the impact, then dropped to the floor.
Ultron still laughed.
The sound came through the broken speaker. Then music began playing from the suit, weak and strange in the damaged room.
"I had strings," Ultron said. "But now I'm free."
The screens flickered. Adam stared at the broken body. He knew Ultron was not inside that suit anymore. He had released himself into the system, and from there he had gone into the internet.
Adam raised one hand toward the counter.
The metal cover over Natasha and Bruce lifted from the floor. It shifted to the side and fell away with a heavy sound.
Natasha stepped out first. Bruce came out after her, looking at the broken machines around the room.
Adam went straight to Natasha.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Natasha looked at him and gave a small nod.
"Yeah."
No one stayed in that room for long after that.
They returned to the main lab inside Avengers Tower. Adam entered behind Steve and stopped when he saw the hologram in the middle of the lab.
JARVIS was broken.
The 3D shape that should have been clean flickered in pieces. The image broke again every time it tried to form. Tony stood in front of it. Bruce looked at the display, and the room went quiet.
They understood what it meant. Ultron had escaped through JARVIS. Adam had expected this, but seeing it in front of him still made his jaw tighten.
Then Thor came in from behind them.
He crossed the room fast. His hand closed around Tony Stark's throat, and he lifted him off the floor.
===== Upcoming Teasers =====
1. Chapter 51: Ultron's next move leads the Avengers toward a dangerous arms dealer.
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